


Gentle Passion

by feshnie



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Post-Series, Slow Build, Smitten Sousuke, university days
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-06-06 08:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6746614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feshnie/pseuds/feshnie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Eternal Summer - Sousuke makes the decision to continue his studies in Tokyo and finds himself enjoying the presence of Makoto more than he probably should.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been in my files for ages. I figured it was time to unleash it.  
> I haven't read High Speed so I don't know if there has been mentions of Sousuke's family or any background on him at all. Sorry for the inconsistencies on that front. I hope you can read with that in mind.  
> Thank you for giving this a try and I hope you enjoy this.

It started with a statement. For lack of conversational topics, Sousuke decided bringing up the Iwatobi Swim Club Alumni duo wasn’t too much of a hassle. Rin had given a chuckle then a sigh and it wasn’t too hard a deduction to make that Rin had been in contact with them sometime between the last time Sousuke had seen them at the sakura-filled Samezuka pool and this phone call made at 6PM on his bed in his hometown.

“Makoto’s studying in Tokyo, you know?” Rin had told him. “He said that he became a swimming coach for kids a while ago and he wanted to pursue it.”

Then it became a suggestion. As dinners often went in the Yamazaki household, Sousuke never expected to be included in his parents’ and grandparents’ idle chat over whatever was blaring on the evening channel. For some reason however, that particular day seemed to pull his father’s attention to him and, gradually, the others. He grunted through the questions about how he’s been settling in with things at home. He spoke as minimally when it came to the condition of his shoulder. When he offhandedly mentioned a comment Rin had made over the phone – some inane joke about healing it by slamming it through a wall – his parents quickly jumped on the childhood friend topic.

“How’s Rin doing in Australia? I haven’t seen that boy in so long. I remember he used to come over all the time when you were kids. You should invite him over whenever he comes back,” his mother prattled on.

Sousuke reverted back to grunting his way through their recounts of Rin and him as kids. He’d been admonished before for not dragging Rin over during his year at Samezuka. It wasn’t like there were a lot of chances to, he tried to tell them. Not that he tried at all, considering he spent most of the time hiding his injured shoulder from everyone and his parents would have blurted that secret out within two steps into the house.

“Didn’t Rin move to Australia during middle school?” Sousuke’s elderly grandfather suddenly spoke up after a long time following the conversation in silence. “Why did he come back? And then went off there again?”

All eyes were on Sousuke now, waiting for his answer. Chopsticks with pickled radish between them were slowly lowered onto his rice bowl.

Preluding with his deepest sigh that day, he told them – in as stingy amount of words as he can – about the reason Rin returned to Iwatobi and consequently was forced to mention the boys who had become the reason Rin left Sano. Too intrigued for their own good, the topic delved deeper about this mysterious Nanase Haruka that had inspired Rin to return and swim in Australia.

“What is Nanase doing now? Is he also swimming?” his meddlesome mother pressed on, her rice bowl resting in the palm of her hand on the table.

“Yeah, got scouted by a university in Tokyo. He went there with Tachibana,” Sousuke answered. It was still a bit odd to call them by their given names and it wasn’t like Rin was around to nudge him about it.

“Tachibana?” Oddly, his grandmother piped up with that one. It could be because she has a friend called Tachibana who lived a town away.

“His childhood friend from Iwatobi. He went to Tokyo to study. Wanted to become a swimming coach.”

“Say, why don’t you do that too?” his father asked.

From there, it became a reality and here he was with a bottle of Pocari Sweat in one hand, a notebook in the other and a bag filled with textbooks on his back, trekking up the stairs to the third lecture of his first week.

It took nearly a year to look into the courses offered, register and take entrance exams. He also kept it from Rin in case he didn’t pass the exams and that became easier to do when Rin got busier with training. He thought of asking which university Tachibana had enrolled into but decided at the less than likely chance that he got into the same university course as Tachibana, their one-year gap would make bumping into each other in the university the rarest chance of all.

Choosing a seat far back, he settled himself comfortably as people continued to file into the lecture hall.

It wasn’t like he would have any problem with bumping into either of the Iwatobi duo. He admitted to being a bit of a jerk to Nanase but only because he was... indignant of the kind of influence Nanase had on Rin in the past. That was neither here nor there now that his shoulder was wrecked and Rin was an ocean apart from him.

Maybe one day he’ll bump into Nanase and…

…he’ll cross that bridge when he gets there, Sousuke supposes.

\---

The bridge appeared two months later in the form of an all too familiar laugh that burst from one corner of an Udon shop. Sousuke felt like it was familiar even if he couldn’t put a finger to it yet. For now, with a nearly finished bowl of Kake udon in front of him, he decided to ignore it just like he ignored the rest of the customers in the establishment. His head had been filled with weighing out which three assignments he needed to finish first that night before it got interrupted.

Remembering the rather unpleasant task he would have to sink himself into at home, Sousuke pushed away the bowl with a grimace and collected his bag. He went to the counter to pay and, as he waited for the cashier to collect his change, he gave the place a glance over.

The familiar laughter once again bubbled from one corner and he let his eyes drift there. He first recognized the pale coloured hair, sitting slightly taller than their partner. For a fraction of a second, his brain seemed to run through names that fit that colour of hair and only when green eyes were visible, as his sight travelled lower, ‘Tachibana Makoto’ leapt to his memories. Sure enough, Nanase Haruka was sitting next to him, an unfamiliar content expression on his face.

‘Huh, even he can smile like that,’ Sousuke found himself thinking.

The two were huddled close, amused by whatever was on the blue phone in Tachi - Makoto’s hand. He really should get used to calling them by their given names. 

The cashier gently called for his attention and a receipt and coins exchanged hands. He was thanked and his patronage was invited again in the future. He gave her a smile and late greetings before stepping away. He considered not revealing himself needlessly to the pair but when he thought about the night he accidentally got stranded at the university during downpour and wishing he had friends close by, it made him take a right and walk up to their table.

As he expected, Makoto was the first to look up at the arrival of his looming shadow. His surprised cheer of “Sousuke!” called for Nana - Haru’s attention as well. The small smile was instantly wiped from his face and his brows creased.

“It’s been such a long time! What brings you here?” Makoto asked with a friendly smile, leaning back to regard him better. Ever the peacemaker. A brief glimpse to the screen of the mobile phone showed part of a message and half a picture of a cat.

“I’m actually studying here. Rin mentioned you were too so I’m surprised that we haven’t bumped into each other until now,” Sousuke replied, trying to ooze friendliness from his being. It would help if Haru didn’t look as if Sousuke was brandishing a dull blade to his face. “How are you both doing? Tokyo’s a bit hard to manoeuvre around, isn’t it?”

Makoto’s small laugh eased a bit of tension from Sousuke’s shoulder.

“Yeah, it was quite hard but we’ve managed. There’s a lot more bustle than we’re used to and there are times I’m scared I won’t be able to make it home,” Makoto said. He slipped the phone shut and nudged it into Haru’s hand who pocketed it. “Have you eaten? You’re welcome to join us.”

Haru’s expression begged to differ however.

“It’s okay. I just finished eating myself,” Sousuke replied. He hesitated for a second before stepping closer to the duo’s table. “If it’s fine with you, we should swap emails.”

“Sure!” Makoto agreed easily, fishing out his own phone.

Same model as Haru’s. Was that what being attached at the hip means?

“We should hang out sometime,” Makoto said after they had exchanged email addresses.

“I look forward to it.”

The smile that Sousuke sent as he turned to leave was a lot easier to conjure.

\---

It wasn’t too much of a surprise that he and Makoto went to the same university and that, despite it being more than three months since Sousuke had started class, the university proved big enough that they never managed to accidentally cross paths. It didn’t mean that they never tried to meet up. Mostly on days that their timetables offered a reason to set foot on campus ground and their breaks coincide – Monday, Wednesday and the occasional Friday if Sousuke felt up to going earlier.

Rarely Sousuke caught Makoto together with his kindred other when they met during these times. Haru was a lot more focused and dedicated about his swimming now so he adhered to training better or so he was informed. Makoto often kept him unnecessarily updated about Haru but Sousuke just lets him because there’s something about Makoto’s pride over his childhood friend that was charming to him.

Monday morning lecture was always a lot more hellish to go through compared to others but afterwards he found Makoto sitting under the shade of a tree, studying for his afternoon class.

“Makoto,” he called, making the shorter man look up, gingerly pushing his glasses that were slipping low over the bridge of his nose. He slipped a chocolate bar that the girl next to him in lecture had given into the crook of Makoto’s textbook. “You eat white chocolate, right?”

“Yes…” Makoto trailed off, staring at the creamy wrapper. “Thank you.”

“Nah, thanks for getting it off of my hands,” Sousuke replied, sitting next to the other. “Last minute cramming?”

Makoto laughed.

“No, just reviewing last week’s material,” he answered, pocketing the chocolate before closing the textbook and giving all his attention to Sousuke.

He still can’t figure out why getting Makoto’s full attention made him feel satisfied. It was exhilarating somehow and for as long as this brief meeting could last, he hungered for all of it. He stopped questioning these feelings after three such meetings and if it helped elevate the stress Monday Blues heaped on him, he wasn’t about to analyse it.


	2. Chapter 2

Mondays allowed them a whole hour to hang out together while Wednesdays and Fridays gave them only half an hour. If he’s up to dealing with Haru, he’d join the two of them on the occasional Sunday that they’d feel like going shopping.

He was doing better with Haru now after he had forced himself to bite out an apology for how he acted in their third year. So far the only thing that was holding him back from being casual and friendly with the other was Haru’s weird anti-social habits. Or maybe it was seeing Makoto dote over his childhood friend that irked him so bad. Haru wasn’t a child and Makoto really shouldn’t need to speak for him all the damn time. Despite that, Makoto seemed just as content to be Haru’s translator and mother-hen.

So after a third Sunday of such disgusting display of close platonic partnership, Sousuke decided to get to the bottom of it.

They sat themselves at a café nearby the cinema that they had just left. It was some weird mystery movie that at one suspenseful – yet completely predictable – moment had made Makoto give a yelp and cling to Haru’s shoulder in fright.

He would like to bring to focus and end any forming speculation that he could be, in any form, jealous of their emotional and physical proximity. Immediately perish such ridiculous thoughts before it festers in your mind and consumes your thoughts. He was just very concerned of Haru’s apparent dependency on Makoto. For goodness sake they were 20 already, Haru should have learned to voice his own thoughts and decide what’s good for him more firmly. Be a man, Nanase!

As if sensing the lecture on the tip of his tongue, Haru’s head whipped to him the moment Makoto stepped away from their table to go to the toilet. Taken aback and thoroughly unprepared for the piercing stare of the shorter man, Sousuke instinctively challenged it with his own glare.

“What is it?” Haru’s question had quite a vicious bite to it.

“You know, Haru,” Sousuke began, sitting straight and leaning forward an inch. He was very aware of how his height could be used as an intimidation technique, something he felt that Makoto didn’t fully utilize, especially towards this biggest threat to sanity. “You’re pretty clingy, aren’t you?”

Clingy wasn’t the word Sousuke had wanted to use nor did it provide the full definition of this situation between Makoto and Haru. Clingy often provided a mental image of limbs winding around some parts of the body much like Gou curled around Rin’s arm. Dependant was the word he used before and that also didn’t fully encompass their relationship. He needed a long perusal through his dictionary for a better word but for now, he had already tossed it on the table and he’ll hear Haru’s rebuttal of it.

“I’m not clingy,” Haru replied with a frown, eyes challenging.

Sousuke waited for nearly 10 seconds before he realised that Haru wasn’t going to delve into an explanation. Much like he, himself, had been during dinners with his family, the shorter man would not provide him with an endearing or philosophical elucidation on why the term ‘clingy’ was the least correct description of his person. He bit back a rather tsukkomi ‘That’s it?!’ and instead let out his longest and deepest sigh that week.

Haru’s frown dipped lower.

“Aren’t you making Makoto do every little thing for you?” Sousuke attempted again. Maybe this whole thing couldn’t be encompassed into one word and it needed a few more to explain; much like how foreigners couldn’t put Itadakimasu into one single translation.

Now, Sousuke wasn’t fluent in any language except Japanese but he does have a friend who lives in Australia; A friend who had, at first, found it hard to explain to his Australian Host Parents what his shouting of ‘Itadakimasu!!’ meant before every meal.

“He does it on his own,” Haru bit back, hackles raised. “I never force him to do anything. He even does things I don’t want him to.”

Like what?

Sousuke knew for a fact that Haru could speak a lot more than he usually does. Their unlikely friendship had not yet reached its half-year mark but as far as speaking goes, he had been present to a truly enlightening moment of Nanase Haruka talking in length and in passion about something. He could see from Makoto’s face that it was as rare and cherishing a moment as, say, when his dad went to see him swim in middle school.

Present day café setting against the man who had once gone up in his face and told him to leave Rin alone might not be a moment worth making memories for Nanase Haruka so Sousuke will accept that the only replies he’ll get are clipped and laden with suspicion.

“Don’t you think you’re letting him dote on you too much?” Sousuke tried again, this time his stance more relaxed. He even leaned back into his chair.

“He does whatever he wants to,” Haru retorted.

“So that makes it okay for you to just let him do everything?”

“I don’t make him do everything.”

“Don’t you ever feel like you should deal with things on your own?”

“I do a lot of things on my own.”

“How are you okay with him deciding things for you?”

“He doesn’t decide everything.”

Sousuke was ready to give up. He wouldn’t be able to work this out verbally if all Haru’s going to be was defensive. Thankfully, Makoto decided it was a good time to return from the toilet. He greeted them both with an apologetic smile and sat down.

“Haru, I just noticed they have a supermarket nearby. We should see if they have mackerel for you,” Makoto said as he sat down, eyes only for Haru.

There they go again. No one needed to take a closer look to see this bubble that had formed and separated them from the rest of the world. Sunday outings often made him feel like a third wheel more than anything because of this. And these two were even neighbours, if what Makoto had said was true. How can you be neighbours all your life and still be this close more than a decade later? Honestly, he and Rin went way back but there were always times he had the urge to stuff Rin’s face in a box of ice and this notion was mutually felt.

Well, he would have more chances of getting to the bottom of this if he spoke to Makoto personally. There was no reason to make this outing sour for the green-eyed man too. Not that Haru was sour anymore, if that little smile was anything to go by.

\---

“Sorry! My place is a bit messy,” Makoto said when he opened the door and let Sousuke in.

True to a student’s life, Makoto’s house was bare save for a messy small table and a three level, knee-length cupboard in a corner where he kept books in the bottom two levels and other things in the highest one. A fishbowl was on the top with fish things around. A few boxes were placed just under the window sill, some sealed and some open. Books were stacked right and left of the table, one magazine open and thrown haphazardly across the floor. Hooks on the wall hung coats, button downs and ties. His part-time uniform was hung on the curtain bars.

As far as messy goes, Makoto was doing it decently.

“I tied up some of last semester’s books and gave away a lot of them to my friend. He’s got a little sister taking the same course so I thought she would need some,” Makoto said as he shifted the boxes under the window. “I doodled a bit on it, if that’s still okay with you.”

“Notes or drawings?” Sousuke asked.

“Notes mostly,” Makoto answered with a light chuckle. Every sound of happiness that came out of his mouth was the very definition of music to the ears, Sousuke had long concluded. “I’m not Haru so any attempt at drawing would look worse than a kindergartener.”

“Is this an explanation for that sad attempt of a cat on your pencil case?”

“No, that one was Ren’s, my little brother, and how could you? He worked hard on it.”

Makoto didn’t sound as offended as his words seemed to be so Sousuke didn’t bother apologizing.

“This one’s pretty clean because the lecturer always gave us hand-outs and let us work on it in groups,” Makoto continued, pulling a decent-sized textbook from the bottom of the box. He laid it in front of Sousuke who finally sat down and took a look through it. “Who’s your lecturer for this class?”

“Oda-san,” Sousuke answered distractedly.

“Oh, mine was Munekata-sensei,” Makoto said, carefully stacking the books that was relevant to Sousuke’s course. “It’s fine if you want to write on the book. My notes are on the hand-outs and I think I’ll just keep those for reference. Is there anything else you need?”

Sousuke put the book on top of the stack in front of him and looked up at Makoto.

“Not a thing I need for class but I am curious about something,” Sousuke began slowly.

“What is it?” Makoto asked, all good-natured curiosity.

“Why do you let Haru get clingy with you?”

Between now and their outing last Sunday, Sousuke hadn’t managed to peruse his dictionary like he had meant to so, again, he would like to remind everyone that ‘clingy’ wasn’t the interpretation he felt could explain these two but it was a word that was easily available for him. 

Makoto faltered with his smile and blinked his eyes, seemingly thinking over the words.

“Haru isn’t clingy,” Makoto began and Sousuke knew he could expect a lengthier explanation from this guy. He just hoped the subject of his childhood friend wouldn’t make Makoto close up on him. He was ready to bend 90 degrees to apologize if it did. “We’ve known each other since we were small and he understands me a lot so it’s easier to be with him. Haru isn’t very good at expressing himself with words, so it just became easier for me to explain to others what he really means.”

“So the whole mother-hen thing is like a habit to you?” Sousuke asks, amused.

“Mothe-!! I’m not being a mother hen! I was just caring for him,” Makoto protested with something like a pout. “He’s always in the bath too long and eats mackerel all the time. I would be worried if he doesn’t eat something else every few days. Sometimes I’m worried he’s not eating enough with how much training he has to do. ”

“You know, it’s not exactly normal to fuss about your best friend like that,” Sousuke said. “Rin and I know each other well but you don’t see me running after him trying to wipe his ass every time he leaves the toilet.”

“You’re rather crude, Sousuke,” Makoto replied, the small pout still on his lips. “Haru just doesn’t like to say his thoughts out loud and it can sometimes cause misunderstanding.”

“So you’re playing messenger for him,” Sousuke pressed. A frown appeared on Makoto’s face. Maybe he had gone too far.

“I’m not. I just want to help him,” Makoto said. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to help my most important friend.”

Sousuke bit back whatever retort that bubbled in his chest. Haru was a different case but he couldn’t find it in himself to cause distress over Makoto. He was too good a guy to deserve Sousuke’s shitty interrogation.

“I’m sorry if I was out of line,” Sousuke said instead, after a short pause. “I was just curious.”

Makoto shook his head and from there the evening proceeded with helping Sousuke retrieve the textbooks and notes he would be using for his class that semester. The topic was not brought up again and Makoto sent him a warm smile when they parted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Sousuke and Haru will get over their differences in the future uvu  
> Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

“I don’t know,” Makoto answered lightly, dipping his spoon to scoop up some mint ice cream. “I haven’t seen Haru in three days.”

Sousuke could practically feel his face freeze up in a stupid expression because that can’t be right. The Iwatobi soulmate duo haven’t met in 3 days was next to impossible. Without really thinking, he asked gravely, “Is Haru still alive?”

“What are you saying, Sousuke? Of course he’s alive,” Makoto answered with a laugh.

“I just didn’t think he could survive without seeing you for a day,” Sousuke said, turning his attention to the cup of coffee in front of him.

“We’re not inseparable, you know? Haru does like to spend time on his own,” Makoto replied. “Though he’s at training outside of Tokyo right now.”

So that explains it.

“What’s the longest time you’ve spent separated from Haru?” Sousuke asked before taking a sip from his hot coffee.

“You honestly make it sound like we spend too much time together. I promise that Haru and I do a lot of things on our own,” Makoto insisted but Sousuke still stared, waiting for his question to be answered. “Uhm let’s see… About a month? Maybe more than a month. There was one time he went to see his parents and I went camping with my family. Summer holidays are usually when we see each other less because we don’t have to meet up for school or club activities.”

Sousuke probably still looked unconvinced because Makoto gave a small sigh even though a smile still stuck on his lips. “You probably already know that he went to Australia with Rin. If we were inseparable, he wouldn’t have easily gone like that.”

“That was because you both had a fight,” Sousuke said. Instantly, Makoto’s smile dropped and he looked down.

“So, Rin told you?” he asked quietly. Before Sousuke could answer, he looked up with a small smile. “That was in the past and the trip ended up being very meaningful to him.”

Again, Makoto looked down at his ice cream, a thumb caressing the tall sundae glass’ base.

“Why did you fight?” Sousuke asked, his voice dropping low. Makoto looked up in surprise. “If that is okay to ask.”

“Oh, um…” he seemed unsure if he should answer it, glancing at everything on the table that isn’t Sousuke. “There was a… There was a miscommunication between us and it came on a really bad timing so…”

The sentence was left hanging with an expectation for Sousuke to fill up the rest on his own and he accepted that. If they had their first fight after years of being best friends, it was most likely not over petty things such as who got the bottom bunk of the bed.

“Rin and I fight all the time over so many things. I’ve forgotten what our first fight was about,” Sousuke decided to share, smiling at the memory of their silly Jan-Ken-Pon battles.

Makoto laughed and the sound made him feel relaxed. “You both sound very close.”

“As do you,” Sousuke replied easily.

They fell into a comfortable silence as Makoto scooped up more mint ice-cream into his mouth.

“Are you sure Haru can manage without you around?”

\---

“It’s starting to get cold, isn’t it?” Makoto mused out loud, glancing at the gray sky as if it held the answer. Haru made an affirmative nod but kept his eyes forward. “You shouldn’t soak too long once it gets colder.”

There it was, Tachibana-okaa-san mode.

“I’ll be fine,” Haru answered.

As expected of the rebellious son, Nanase.

“Really now, you always say that,” Makoto moaned unhappily. “Make sure to wear more layers and keep warm at all times. Especially since you still have training in the winter. I was talking to your teammate, Owami-san, and he said you came in once while you were running a fever. That’s not good at all!”

Sousuke could see Haru’s expression darken in annoyance. In their early stages of forced friendship, Sousuke was righteously pissed that Haru seemed to make light of Makoto’s worry but after hanging out and listening to the duos back-and-forth, he found that Haru didn’t hate Makoto worrying, he hated making Makoto worried.

“It was just a small fever,” Haru retorted. “Owami wasn’t even there on that day.”

Sousuke’s phone rang at that moment, pulling all of their attention. He fished it out from his pocket and read the caller ID.

It was Rin.

Makoto and Haru had stopped in their tracks when Sousuke did and was looking at him questioningly. Close after their meeting at the Udon shop, Sousuke had shared with Rin about his meeting with the Iwatobi soulmate and he hung up when Rin started spouting some weird shit about destiny and crossroads. On the call after that, Rin had apologized because he had been a bit drunk and he caught a weird mumble about a drama series.

“It’s Rin,” he said, motioning the phone. “You can go on ahead if you want.”

Makoto glanced at Haru before smiling at him. “It’s okay. We’ll wait.”

Sousuke nodded and answered the call. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Makoto talking softly to Haru probably about some mundane observation he had noticed. That guy has a way with pleasantly filling the silence with idle chatter. Must be because he hung around the quiet Haru so much.

“Hello?” he said into his phone.

“Hey, Sousuke,” Rin’s static voice replied. He sounded relaxed, probably already done with preparations for bed. “Sorry to call you like this but is Haru around? I tried calling him but he must’ve left his phone at home. ”

What a coincidence.

“Yeah. You wanna talk to him?” he asked, glancing up at the duo in front of him. They were turned away and Makoto was gesturing somewhere to the left.

“Just for a bit.”

“Haru!” Sousuke called out, pulling the phone away from his face. He held it to the shorter man when they turned to him. “Rin wants to talk to you.”

Haru said nothing as he accepted the phone and put it to his ears. Giving Haru some space, Makoto stepped to Sousuke’s side and looked at him expectantly.

“Is it something urgent?” Makoto asked amicably.

“Don’t know. Rin just said he tried calling him before but no one picked up,” he answered.

Makoto let out a sigh, glancing at Haru with something quite like disapproval. He smiled when he turned back to Sousuke though and that was all that mattered. “Haru has a bad habit of leaving his phone at home. He said it’s because he can’t bring it into the pool. I thought living in Tokyo would have made him more wary about not having his phone on him but I guess he slips up sometimes.”

Makoto rummaged through his pockets and pulled out his own phone. “I wonder if Rin tried to call me. He knows Haru doesn’t always have his phone with him. Ah! My phone’s dead! It must’ve run out of batteries. That must be why.”

Sousuke still thinks Makoto’s skill of being able to keep a one-sided conversation going impressive. He’s not Haru though and if a short reply can keep Makoto talking in that warm voice of his, he’d spout poetry if he must.

“Does Rin call you often?” he asked, just to make idle chat. He likes it when Makoto pays attention and directs his smiles at him.

“I don’t think he has much reason to call me,” Makoto says with a small shrug, looking away. “Unless he can’t reach Haru.”

He is at a loss as to how to reply. He knows that Rin is close to his Iwatobi group of friends but he doesn’t know the extent of their interest in each other. He can’t assure Makoto that Rin doesn’t just see him as a convenient way to connect with the apathetic Haru.

A chuckle from Makoto pulled him from his own thoughts. “I hope you don’t think badly of it. Rin and I do talk at times when we can’t reach Haru. I’ve troubled Rin with a lot of favours in the past so it makes me happy that he would contact me at all, even just for Haru’s sake. Besides, there’s clearly not much the both of us can talk about past the formal greeting and general inquiries.”

“He’s also been getting busy,” Sousuke felt like he should add. He didn’t know if he was defending Rin or comforting Makoto. Either way, the shorter man agreed easily with a small chuckle.

“It’s been busy for Haru too. He’s been training harder because of the competition,” Makoto shared.

Sousuke found that to be a small blessing. He had been able to hang out with Makoto alone a lot more lately. His biggest achievement so far was getting to share popcorn while watching a movie on one of their Sunday outings that Haru was absent for. He was still trying to find a way to watch a horror or paranormal movie with Makoto but the other was adamant about steering far from movies with even a vague sense of horror to it.

“Sousuke,” Haru’s clipped voice interrupted them, holding out the phone to its owner. He sounded a bit annoyed and Sousuke could tell Makoto sensed it too.

“Is there something wrong, Haru?”

“Nothing. We should head home,” Haru answered, already turning around and walking to the train station. Sousuke shared a brief glance with Makoto before following after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be scenes that skip a few days in between scene changes but don't worry, they're all told in a linear timeline.  
> Next chapter will contain some other characters. A few may be surprising.  
> Thank you for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Sousuke made a vow to never owe any more favours to Kuroyama for as long as he lived. He missed class that one time when there was a technical difficulty on his train line and he had to borrow notes and get assignments from his classmates later. Kuroyama offered his readily and a week later had hounded Sousuke to join in on a group date. He wasn’t even a first choice if the, “I wanted Yoruaki to go – you know how popular that guy is with girls – but he has his part time job!” was anything to go by.

So that was how he ended up in a group date, listening to a girl spill her woes about friends and peer pressure. He had initially gotten the attention of many girls for being so tall but because of his unapproachable attitude – he didn’t feel like being friendly – they quickly averted their attention to the next best thing, a good looking man with a mole under his eye and an easy smile. That was when a girl approached him and asked if he was being forced into coming as well.

She wanted him to call her Sakura – which came from shortening and combining Saizawa Kikuhara – and she was also the unlucky one who had to cover a friend’s attendance because the other got herself a boyfriend. Sousuke was okay with her presence in the beginning because they talked about random and general things. Sakura used to be one of the managers for her high school’s swim club though she decided to join the softball team in her third year because she liked their jersey. Due to that, Sousuke found it easy to tell her about how he injured his shoulder.

However, Sousuke soon found out that she was extremely lightweight and was an emotional drunk. As if taking pity on him, one of Sakura’s friends noticed her and offered to take care of her. Sousuke took that opportunity to announce his leave. Kuroyama thanked him for coming and he was out of the noisy gathering in under five minutes.

He inhaled the cold night air in relief as soon as he stepped out. Spotting a vending machine near the entrance of the izakaya, he decided a warm can of something sounded like a good idea before he had to make his journey back.

He was fishing out the can when the entrance slid open, filling the quiet air with the noise from inside.

“Sousuke?” A familiar voice called him.

Sousuke stood back up, can in hand, and met the surprised face of Makoto.

“A friend of yours?” A voice spoke, and from behind Makoto stepped out a man with a peculiar set of spiky hair.

“Ah, yes, this is Yamazaki Sousuke. I’ve known him from high school even though we didn’t go to the same one,” Makoto introduced. Sousuke tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement. “He’s also studying at our university but a year below.”

“Oya~? This is the Sousuke who rescued the cat from the tree?” the man asked with a teasing voice.

Sousuke felt his cheeks flush a bit and he looked at Makoto in a mix of embarrassment and surprise. That was a story from such a long time ago. Makoto had spotted a kitten on a tree and he was just a few centimetres too short to grab it so Sousuke had helped him. To think Makoto shared that story with others made him feel weird inside.

“I – It was just that one time!” Makoto cried out, flustered. “I can’t believe you remember that!”

“I told you, cats are close to my heart,” the man said. He looked to Sousuke after that and extended his hand. “By the way, I’m Kuroo Tetsurou. A senior of Tachibana’s but different courses.”

Sousuke nodded with a small mumble of, “Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, sorry I forgot to introduce you,” Makoto apologized. “We met at a seminar and he’s in a sports team.”

“I’m on the university’s volleyball team. You’re welcomed to join. We could use some of that height,” Kuroo said. Makoto looked a bit troubled, probably remembering Sousuke’s injury.

“Thanks but I hurt my shoulder swimming so I’ll have to decline,” Sousuke said, his hand subconsciously touching his injured shoulder.

“Sorry to hear that. You’re still welcome to come watch us play. Tachibana here sometimes helps us at practice,” Kuroo said. “His receives are bad but we appreciate the help.”

“Did you really have to say that last one?” Makoto mumbled dejectedly.

Sousuke had heard before that Makoto helped around in various sports. He also swam in his free time and jogged in the mornings when he only has afternoon classes. Sousuke rarely sees him in the gym but he once saw Makoto playing basketball in a public court. It seems that Makoto plays various sports for fun nowadays and he had to admit that he’s a bit envious.

“Anyway, are you on your way back, Sousuke?” Makoto asked. Sousuke nodded. “We’re both heading to the station if you want to join us.”

As if Sousuke had anything better to do.

\---

They separated at the Station, Makoto and Sousuke took a different line from Kuroo. They chatted lightly about their night as they walked to their platforms. Makoto did most of the talking, as he usually does and by the time they were lining up to wait for the train, Sousuke knew Makoto’s whole weekend itinerary down to what time he should go to Haru’s training to join him for lunch.

“Are you no longer planning to do any competitive sports?” Sousuke asked after a 5-second silence. Makoto looked at him in surprise before turning away to stare at where their train would come in.

“I don’t think I’m cut out to be a professional athlete,” he began. “I swam because it was fun and Haru was there. Haru’s still here and what I’m doing at university – studying and playing with others – is also fun. Just the same as then, making winning in swim competitions my goal, studying and learning to be a good coach is now my goal. There’s a lot of things I can learn from helping others in different sports.”

Sousuke nodded, even though Makoto couldn’t see it. “You’ll make a very good coach, Makoto.”

“Haha, thank you, Sousuke,” Makoto said with a little flush.

The train came and they waited for everyone to step off before making their way inside. It wasn’t too crowded but they didn’t manage to get any seats. Makoto took out his phone and began typing in it. Sousuke took this moment to stare at the dark passing sceneries outside.

They stood like that for a few minutes, arms dangling in front of them, holding onto the strap. It wasn’t until the train left 3 stations, that Makoto softly called his name. Sousuke looked to his side in acknowledgement.

“Kuroo is wondering if he can have your phone number. Can I share it with him?” Makoto asked. For some reason, Sousuke’s brain zeroed in on the fact that Makoto didn’t use any titles with Kuroo’s name. He remembered the other mentioning that he was older. “Sousuke?”

He was broken out of his train of thought by Makoto’s voice and he looked away, trying to collect his composure. “Sure.”

Makoto made a small happy noise and continued tapping away at his phone.

“You’re…” Sousuke began after a short while, the half a minute letting him arrange his thoughts on the subject better. Makoto looked at him to show he was paying attention. “You’re quite close to that guy.”

He wasn’t sure what he was trying to fish out of that statement. If it was a question, he could expect an answer but it was more like an inane observation that he had been holding on for a long time and was well past its expiration date. He didn’t even think he has the right to demand an explanation from Makoto who is free to befriend and become close to anyone he wanted.

“Ah, you mean how I called his name?” Makoto asked with an understanding smile on his lips. Sousuke nodded, a feeling of shame burning in his gut at being found out. “I didn’t know he was older when we met at the seminar and he was okay with it afterwards so it stuck. He said he has a childhood friend who never liked the whole senior-junior thing so he’s become used to it. Most of his teammates now think I’m in his year though because of that.”

“I see,” Sousuke replied lamely, not quite sure how else to follow-up on that conversation. He had thought of various things more personal and intimate but in the end it was just something simple.

“They’re having a small match with one of the neighbourhood teams this Friday afternoon at 4. I’ll be cheering for them from the sides. Would you like to come see?” Makoto asked. Sousuke had class until 3 on that day and he knew Makoto knew so he just nodded with a light grunt. “Great! I’ll show you the place after you finish class so text me when it ends.”

Sousuke felt something fluttery go through his stomach. Volleyball match wasn’t anywhere private but on the plus side, he got to hang out with Makoto.

\---

There was a surprising amount of crowd in the gym on Friday. The game still hadn’t started and it looked like half of the crowd was made up of the volleyball team’s members seeing as how they casually greeted Makoto when he passed through.

“Ah, the cat-saviour came!” Kuroo’s voice reached Sousuke’s ears before he even saw the guy. Sousuke blanched at the name and noticed many interested eyes locked on to him because of it. Makoto became flustered at his side, most likely worried Sousuke would get mad at him for sharing that story. He would never, not to this angel.

“There’s a tale behind that name that I’m really curious about,” one of the people in the crowd said.

“Bokuto-san!” Makoto called out happily, making something in Sousuke turn grim. Makoto’s hands curled around his wrist and he was hastily tugged to the person’s side. They both sat down, Sousuke following the other’s cue.

“What?! You’re still calling me that? I told you it’s fine to just call my name. You’re doing that with Kuroo, you can do it with me,” Bokuto said in faux anger, waving his fist around.

“No, I wouldn’t want to –”

“You’re not special enough, Bokuto,” Kuroo leered from the side of the court.

“What?! I’m plenty special!” Bokuto loudly countered before he looked pointedly at Makoto, who flustered under the stare.

“Y – yes, Bokuto-san is very special,” Makoto answered.

“Ha! See? Even Tachibana agrees,” Bokuto said to which Kuroo smirked even more.

“But he still doesn’t call you familiarly,” the wild-haired man pointed out.

“He will soon enough, you sneaky feline!” 

“Bird brain.”

Sousuke watched with mild interest as the two returned jeers and name-calling to each other. He can’t imagine anyone treating Makoto with that sort of familiarity and vice versa. It was something he could see happening between him and Rin but not between Makoto and Haru. It probably had a lot to do with Makoto’s gentle and caring nature.

A man called out for their attention and the team on the court gathered around the door to greet the other team. Some of the crowd even joined them, proving Sousuke’s suspicion that they were made up of the additional team members to be true. 

Makoto took this moment to strike a conversation with Bokuto and Sousuke just listened to them. He was never really interested in volleyball. They often played basketball or football during health education class in school. Volleyball and dodge ball only came up maybe five times. Makoto said he would explain the rules when they get to the gym but he probably forgot. He didn’t really mind though.

“You’re not playing this time?” Makoto asked after a while.

“No, doctor’s orders,” Bokuto said with a childish pout. That piqued at Sousuke’s attention. A tingle passed through his injured shoulder as if telling him what that reminded him of. “They all didn’t want me playing too. Saying that the opponent would be too easy to beat with me on there.”

Makoto just laughed good-naturedly.

“So what’s the story behind cat-saviour-kun?” Bokuto easily changed topics, his expression becoming excited again.

“Oh! This is my friend, Yamazaki Sousuke. Kuroo met him two days ago and seemed interested in him so I invited him to come watch this match,” Makoto explained, gesturing towards Sousuke who only nodded his head. “Sousuke, this is Bokuto-san. He’s on a sports scholarship like Haru-chan. He’s a really good player.”

“So even this guy gets special treatment from you,” Bokuto grumbled but quickly discarded his pout. “Why was Kuroo interested in him? Is it because you’re tall? Hey, hey! Are you gonna join the team? We need a guy like you!”

Sousuke is really not used to this amount of energy. It reminded him painfully of Mikoshiba Momotarou and he thought he was free of that when he graduated. If he ever had an inkling of desire to join the team, it would be gone now.

“Thanks but like I said to Kuroo-san, I hurt my shoulder so I can’t,” Sousuke said. Makoto was staring at him again, his face full of sadness and pity.

“That sucks! So you got hurt too?” Bokuto asked, his hand kneading at his leg, and it confirmed Sousuke’s suspicion. He just nodded. “I sprained something like a week ago and the doctor said I can’t play for a month. Plus, I have to do stretches and just light exercises. I want to get on the court soon!”

“Bokuto-san was one of the top 5 volleyball players in the nation for his age group when he was in high school. I was on his team in one of the practices and he was really good,” Makoto explained. It made Bokuto laugh boisterously, happy at Makoto’s praise. Sousuke understood the feeling. He would be in the clouds too if Makoto said anything good about him.

“Tachibana! You should hurry and officially join the team too! Your spikes are really powerful! But your receives suck!” Bokuto said, making Makoto flinch. He must be very conscious about how terrible his receives are.

“Ah, well… I don’t mind helping out occasionally but I’m devoting myself seriously to my studies. I appreciate that you would like me to join though,” Makoto said in a placating manner. “Besides, I already mentioned the same to the basketball team so it wouldn’t feel right if I joined the volleyball team suddenly.”

“Wha-! You rascal, you’ve been playing for different teams behind our backs?” Bokuto accuses with a friendly nudge.

“I need to keep fit somehow. I used to be on the swim team in high school but now that I’m not tied to any sports club, I would still like to work out,” Makoto explained.

“Oho~ this is the club you did with Haru-chan, right?” Bokuto said with a teasing smile but then he frowned and squinted his eyes. “That’s why you should just join the team already!”

“E-eh… I mean, if there’s a team I would join, it would be the swim team definitely,” Makoto answered and it was the other’s turn to flinch.

“That’s right,” Bokuto mumbled dejectedly.

The whistle blew loudly and pulled all the spectator’s attention. The starting players stepped on the court, each facing the crowd. That was when Makoto turned to Sousuke, alarmed.  
“I forgot to explain the rules to you!”


	5. Chapter 5

By some unfathomable persuasion power of Makoto’s, Sousuke found himself having lunch with the Iwatobi soul mates near Haru’s training facility on a Saturday afternoon. The three stacks of bento that Makoto had heated, packed and brought was cooked by Haru early in the morning. For some reason, Sousuke also had a portion and he tried not to think of how Haru had cooked this with him in mind. 

It was probably because Makoto invited him and who in the world could turn down Tachibana Makoto without having a heart as black as coal? He was a complete putty to Makoto’s demands – regardless of how it wasn’t even a demand; Makoto had just looked a little disappointed when he tried to turn him down and it resulted in him taking it back and agreeing. He had an inkling that if Makoto told him to rob a bank, he would probably do it. Such power over his self is a huge responsibility but he’s pretty sure Makoto wouldn’t ever abuse it; and that makes him want to breathe a sigh of relief.

Having lunch prepared by Haru also meant that there was mackerel and he looked at it carefully. As expected of a mackerel-obsessed person, the fish looked perfect and tasty. He gingerly poked into the dish and took a bite.

“It’s really good,” Sousuke said very seriously and he could swear to the heavens that both Haru and Makoto’s eyes sparkled at his praise.

“Right?! Haru makes the best mackerel ever,” Makoto practically coos, taking a bite out of his own mackerel.

“You’re not so bad,” Haru said, also very seriously and with a nod. Sousuke felt as if he was finally accepted by the smaller man.

On one hand, it meant that maybe their friendship would improve above just regarding each other but on the other, it was over a fish and Sousuke’s pride felt kind of bruised. However, the sight of Makoto practically glowing on behalf of his childhood friend was like a bandage and it suddenly didn’t seem so bad.

“Oo—h! Tachibana, you came to visit Nanase again!” a voice disturbed them.

“Owami-san,” Makoto called out, placing his bento and chopsticks down. Sousuke and Haru watched silently, each carefully chewing on their food. “You’ve worked hard.”

“I see you’re having lunch like lovers again,” Owami said in a teasing tone. Sousuke frowned at that and it dropped deeper when Makoto only laughed. “Oh but there’s a new face this time. A close friend of yours?”

“Ah, yes, this is Yamazaki Sousuke, he’s studying in the same place as me,” Makoto answered. Sousuke nodded. He felt like he has been introduced a lot by Makoto lately. “Sousuke, this is Owami-san, Haru’s senior on his team.”

“Owami Yuuji at your service!” He did an extravagantly lame bow.

“Nice to meet you,” Sousuke grunted out before shoving more rice into his mouth.

“Not the talkative type, are you?” Owami asked, displeased by the bland reaction. “Tachibana, you seem to hang around these sorts a lot. It’s not good for a great guy like you. First Nanase and now Yamazaki. Should I introduce you to my friends? They’re very fun guys. I think you’ll like them.”

Sousuke was starting to find this guy very annoying. He could handle 3 of Bokuto-san’s type of character if it meant getting away from this guy. He could see Haru was also getting agitated.

“No, I wouldn’t want you to go through that trouble. Haru and Sousuke are charming people in their own way so it matters only to people who care,” Makoto replied, his smile very gentle. Sousuke felt warm around the collars now and he couldn’t look at that face for very long.

“You’re a saint, Tachibana,” Owami said with an exaggerated sob. “Well, have fun with lunch. Don’t kidnap Nanase until after the meeting at least.”

Sousuke couldn’t be happier to see that man leave them to their food. Makoto even let out a relieved sigh after Owami rounded a corner and disappeared completely.

“Why did he even come here?” Haru bitterly complained. Makoto gave a hollow laugh as he picked up his bento and chopsticks again. “Don’t get close to Owami and his friends, Makoto. I saw them. They were noisy.”

“I wasn’t even planning to,” Makoto said, sighing again. “Owami-san always comes on his own to tell me stuff about you. I wish he would stop.”

“Just tell him to stop,” Haru bit back. Makoto slumped where he sat.

“I tried to but after that he just came and did the same thing,” replied Makoto glumly, poking at his rice. 

They fell into an awkward silence after that, just munching their bento and being consumed in their own thoughts. Sousuke cursed Owami for destroying such a good atmosphere that had built up after he complimented Haru’s cooking. What a bastard.

“A-anyway, what time does your meeting end, Haru?” Makoto asked, finally pulling them from dark thoughts of Haru’s irritating senior.

“At 3,” Haru answered. “Are you waiting for me?”

“Yup! I’m going to show Sousuke around while we wait for you. I think he’ll really like the gym,” Makoto replied, gesturing to Sousuke. “He’s so far mostly just seen the building from outside and he mentioned that some of the equipment at the gym he went to are wearing out. I think it’d be a good opportunity to see other kinds of equipment. I tested the gym here a few times and it was very comfortable.”

While Makoto was talking, Haru sneaked a look at Sousuke that left him perplexed. It wasn’t a distasteful look but more of an assessing one. He felt like Haru gave those looks a lot but previously it had an underlying threatening feel to it – now it was a genuinely calculating one. He raised his eyebrows at it and Haru looked away.

Maybe he did level up on Haru’s pyramid of human regard.

Mackerels are really something.

\---

The sky was getting dark by the time all three of them decided to head home. They went to various bookstores to look for studying and reading material. Makoto bought a significant amount of them that they had to stop at the side to arrange them into Makoto’s bag so that he wasn’t holding onto too many bags. Sousuke noted that a lot of the thicker books were sports related, either to psychology, physiology or kinesiology.

“I thought you were going to be a coach, not a doctor,” Sousuke lightly joked as Makoto zipped up his bag. The shorter man flushed, realising that the other had seen the kinds of books he bought.

“It’s… The thought of it occurred the other day when we were talking to Kuroo and Bokuto-san,” Makoto began, fingers rubbing the back of his neck. “I felt helpless whenever you had to mention about your shoulder and it made me realize that there wasn’t anything I could say or do to help you.”

“You don’t have –”

“But I want to! You’re an important friend to me, Sousuke. I want to help you be able to do what you like the most. I know that Rin –” Makoto stopped sharp, as if suddenly remembering something. His shoulders had gone tense as he said them and, with a breath, he let his body relax. “I know that Rin would want you to swim freely again.”

Sousuke kept silent.

He had a feeling that Makoto would say something to that effect. After doing the relay with Rin, achieving the last wish he wanted out of his swimming career, he was ready to retire completely from swimming. He still adhered to the rehabilitation training but only to the level that his shoulder wouldn’t bother him in his everyday life. He first intended to return to his hometown and help his parents with work or maybe find a job of his own. He thought briefly that he would maybe eventually find a girl, get married and settle down quietly. Swimming was never fitted into that desolate dream.

Now that he was in Tokyo, studying to become a trainer, he realized that the possibility was there again.

“I… For a long while now, I’ve just accepted the idea that I couldn’t swim anymore,” Sousuke began. When he saw Makoto was about to protest, he raised a hand to stop him. “It’s not that I wouldn’t. I just… I knew I could swim eventually but thinking how I would never be able to swim professionally, it hurt so much. I would have rather not tried at all.”

Haru was watching him intently and with furrowed eyebrows. Sousuke wondered what was passing through his mind right now. For someone like Haru whose life was just about the enjoyment of swimming, whose biggest turmoil until now was realizing that the natural progression of talent would be turning his hobby into a profession, what would he think about Sousuke who would give up everything he loved just because he could no longer swim like he used to.

Sousuke couldn’t look into those ocean blue eyes.

“Sousuke…” Makoto said and it hurt so much. He sounded so sad and helpless and it wasn’t fair that he should feel that when he had made Sousuke feel so happy.

When he was with Makoto, it was so easy to forget about his injured shoulder, about his meaningless swimming trophies, about his best friend who asked him if he was still swimming so hopefully. If he asked himself deep down, he knew that he still wanted to swim so badly but the memory of the pain and realization that he wouldn’t be able to swim anymore was still fresh. It was terrifying. Would he really want to put himself through that nightmare again?

“Do you really think I can still swim?” Sousuke asked.

“Yes!” Makoto said sharply and quickly, as if he had waited so long to say it. Haru gave a firm nod.

‘How do you know I can?’ Sousuke bit back the question. There was no doubt he could but Makoto would know he meant it more than just casual swimming. He wasn’t sure if he was scared he would hear Makoto waver or feel himself distrust the other’s belief in him.

“We’ll see.”

\---

It was a Monday again and class wrapped up nearly 10 minutes after the allotted time. Towards the end of class, Sousuke spent more time conversing with Makoto through emails than paying attention to the lecturer. It was supposed to be a short back-and-forth of Sousuke asking Makoto if he wanted to grab dinner together. He had an assignment due the next day and was planning on holing himself up in the library until he finished it. Makoto had classes until late afternoon and by then Sousuke was hoping his assignment would be done and they could hang out. The conversation somehow devolved to favourite meals and little hidden restaurants and home cafes that opened early enough with cheery baristas.

Now that he was making his way to said conversation partner, he felt a bit silly. They were going to meet anyway, he didn’t need to shoot Makoto an e-mail like that. Three steps after he thought that, he found that he didn’t have even the slightest bit of regret. He remembered the heaviness of Monday Blues that clung to his skin and how it had gradually lessened as Makoto’s name popped up on his phone.

It was a weird feeling. He wondered if there was anything else like Makoto that made him feel like this.

His thoughts came to a halt at the sight of familiar light-coloured hair. Makoto was sitting against a tree with a book open in his lap and headphones covering his ears. His phone was balanced carefully on one knee, most likely waiting for a reply from Sousuke.

He walked up to the preoccupied man casually and made sure his presence was noticed before sliding to sit in front of Makoto.

“Good morning,” Makoto said with a smile, taking off his headphones and turning off his mp3.

“Good morning,” Sousuke replied, watching the man stow the items away in his bag.

“I hope I didn’t disturb your concentration in class too much,” Makoto said. There was a cheekiness to the tone and in the smile that made something in Sousuke’s stomach flutter.

“No, it was a welcome distraction,” Sousuke answered. “Besides, I contacted you first.”

Before Makoto could answer, a loud call of “Yamazaki--!!” came from behind them. They both turned to see Sousuke’s classmate, Kuroyama, running towards them.

“Is that your friend?” Makoto asked in a low voice, waiting for the man to reach them.

“Nnh, he’s in my class – Kuroyama Hitomu.”

“It’s HiROmu!” The friend corrected angrily, breathing heavily from his run. “Sheesh, we’ve been in the same class since the start of semester and you still don’t remember my name.”

“I try not to.”

“Sousuke!” Makoto lightly chided him.

Sousuke just shrugged. “What do you want?”

“Ah, sorry, was I disturbing something?” Kuroyama asked, looking from Sousuke to Makoto.

“It’s alright, we were just hanging out,” Makoto answered.

“Are you a friend of Yamazaki?” Kuroyama continued asking, taking a seat next to Sousuke without being invited. “Like, a super close friend?”

“We knew each other from when we were in school,” Makoto replied unassumingly. 

“Aahh…so you went to school together? That’s gotta be nice.”

“We weren’t in the same school unfortunately. We knew each other because we were both in our school’s swim club.”

“Whoah! I didn’t know Yamazaki was in the swim club. What sort of school do you go to?”

Sousuke was beginning to feel something suspicious about Kuroyama suddenly breaking out into prying questions.

“Quit harassing Makoto,” Sousuke cut in sharply, glaring at his classmate.

“Whoah, hey chill! I was just interested in your friend,” Kuroyama said, throwing his arms in front of him in defence as if Sousuke would suddenly attack him. He glanced at a worried looking Makoto. “So your name is Makoto, huh? Sounds familiar.”

“Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Tachibana Makoto. I’m also a student here although it’s my second year,” Makoto answered.

“Nice! What course are –” Kuroyama stopped suddenly, realizing something. “Wait, are you the unapproachable heart throb, Tachibana Makoto from Sports Science?”

“The what?” Makoto asked, sounding bewildered.

“The girls in my class are always talking about you. You don’t accept invitations to group dates and never have your weekends free. You also turn down all the girls that asked you out but when they asked if you have a girlfriend, you say you don’t. Why’s that?”

Makoto looked extremely uncomfortable by the time Kuroyama finished his spiel.

“Hey, I told you to quit harassing Makoto,” Sousuke sharply said, his body already moving to get in-between the two. Kuroyama backed away quickly, surprised by the taller man’s anger. A pair of hands curled around Sousuke’s forearm and gently tugged him back.

“Sousuke, it’s fine,” Makoto said in a small voice, being the least bit convincing that he was fine.

“Yeah, Yamazaki. Calm down,” Kuroyama said, backing a considerable space away. “I was just curious.”

“Stop that,” he gritted out. “What do you even need from me?”

“Oh! That’s right,” Kuroyama exclaimed before he fished out his phone. “Hey, remember that group date we went to? I bumped into Sakura-chan the other day and she wanted me to give you her phone number and ask that you contact her.”

“What for?” Sousuke asked, having a slight notion as to why.

“What else? She’s interested in you of course, you sly dog!” Kuroyama said with a grin, clearly thinking Sousuke would be as excited about this as him.

“Then I don’t want to. I’m not interested in her,” Sousuke answered resolutely. He whirled towards Makoto and started collecting his things. “Let’s go. We don’t have to deal with him if he makes you uncomfortable.”

“N – no Sousuke, it’s fine,” Makoto tried to protest but it was half-hearted enough that Sousuke knew the other didn’t really mean it.

“Then come for my sake,” Sousuke said to him, low enough that Kuroyama won’t hear. With Makoto’s book in hand, he got to his feet and pulled the other up.

“Hey, wait, where are you going?” Kuroyama asked, alarmed.

“Something came up. See you later,” Sousuke replied in a clipped tone. He adjusted his hold on Makoto’s arm and tried to steer the other away as quickly as he can. Makoto barely got out an ‘It was nice to meet you’ before he was already making his way outside of the shade of the tree.

“Come join our group date sometimes, Tachibana!” Kuroyama shouted.

Makoto was about to turn and reply to him but Sousuke slipped his arm around the other’s back and urged them away faster.

Once they left the open grounds and disappeared behind a building, Sousuke finally slowed down. He let out a tired sigh and Makoto giggled making him turn to see what was funny and finally realize that he was still holding the other close.

“S – Sorry,” he mumbled, letting his hand drop to his side. 

“No, it’s fine. Thank you. Is your friend going to be okay with you leaving him like that?” Makoto asked with a light crease between his brows. Sousuke was very conscious of the fact that their shoulders were still touching.

“He probably didn’t even realize he had been a nuisance,” Sousuke said through gritted teeth, his mind doing an obnoxious replay of Kuroyama inconveniencing him at all possible times. “And he’s not really a friend. He’s just a classmate.”

“Am I your friend?” Makoto asked, a small smile on his lips.

“Of course you are!” Sousuke answered very seriously, looking the other straight in the eyes, as if challenging him to deny. Makoto’s smile grew wider until he finally burst out into a small chuckle.

“Thank you, Sousuke. I’m glad you think I’m your friend too. It’s honestly been on my mind for a while now,” Makoto said, a light flush on his cheeks. “I’ve just been carelessly introducing myself as your friend and it would have been bad if you didn’t think of me in that way.”

“That… It’s obvious that I would have protested if it wasn’t the case,” Sousuke mumbled, feeling the same flush appear on his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit less read through so if you notice any very noticeable error, do tell me.  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter. Thank you for kudos and comments.


	6. Chapter 6

“You could make a photobook on stray cats one day,” Sousuke joked as he watched Makoto snapping pictures of a mother cat and her three kittens drinking from a bowl of milk.

They had made a pre-arranged detour to an abandoned house while on their way to the library. Half an hour prior, Makoto had showed up at the train station armed with a bag of cat food and a carton of milk, his face bright with eagerness to visit the family he had stumbled upon a few days ago. Sousuke never really understood the Iwatobi duos fascination with cats – Makoto being more excitable about it than Haru is – but he takes enjoyment out of seeing the light-haired man’s delight over the furry creatures.

“I don’t have that many of them,” Makoto answered, stepping away from the feline family. His thumb was tapping gently on the phone, most likely scrolling through the pictures. “I wonder which one I should send to Haru.”

Sousuke allowed him some moment to send the picture before he spoke up. “Does Haru mind that you’re spending so much time apart?”

It was a question that was nagging him ever since he had let his mind wonder the week before and came to a realization that he had spent a significantly long time in Makoto’s presence, whether with or without his other half present. The real question was in actuality whether Makoto minded spending so much time in _his_ presence but it started sounding self-indulgent the third time he repeated that inquiry in his head. Also, on the off chance that Makoto did mind, Sousuke wasn’t about to put his heart on the line to be crushed.

“You’re still thinking that?” Makoto sighed out, his brows furrowed in light exasperation. “I told you, Haru and I aren’t inseparable. He has his likes and I have my own and they aren’t always something we could share with each other. And like I said before, Haru likes spending time on his own.”

Makoto did mention that before, Sousuke thought with a nod.

It was strange for him too.

Sousuke used to spend a long time alone, just wrapped up in swimming and thoughts of competing against Rin. After his shoulder injury started worsening, he holed in on himself even more, trying to keep his known secret from any pitying eyes. When he attended Samezuka Academy, he made sure to keep a good distance between himself and Rin – helped further by Rin’s duty as the club’s captain. He always had that fear of someone finding out and it inadvertently formed into a barrier keeping him from opening up to others.

Now that it was no longer a secret and he had managed to fulfil his dream, it was like weights had unravelled from his shoulders. He no longer needed to barricade himself from others anymore and having no deep interest to pursue vigorously, he found himself liberated of the need and desire to isolate himself.

“What about you then?” Makoto asked, though his voice had become quieter. “Do you mind having to spend too much time with me?”

Sousuke’s eyes nearly bugged out from how much that question shocked him.

“Of course not!” he nearly shouted. Porcelain clattered behind them and they turned to see that the family of cats had darted away, probably surprised by his outburst. A warm flush prickled up his neck and to his cheeks as he cleared his throat awkwardly. “I mean, of course I don’t mind. I enjoy hanging out with you a lot.”

Makoto let out a breathy laugh – half sigh of relief, half amusement – and turned his face away. It was a strangely subdued reply coming from Makoto who often knew what to say. He had expected the other would bring up the fact that he had scared away the cats but for nearly a minute, nothing came and he was starting to get worried.

“Makoto?” he tried, hesitantly.

Makoto finally looked his way and Sousuke sharply inhaled, nearly causing prickling discomfort in his chest.

An intense shade of red had coloured over the other’s face, making even his ears pink. He didn’t completely turn Sousuke’s way, most likely aware of the mess his flushed state was in but his eyes, lowered eyelids and thick pupils, made something weird stir in the pit of the taller male’s stomach.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m like this,” Makoto finally said in a small voice, looking away again. “I guess it made me really happy that you said you enjoyed being with me.”

There was loud thundering in Sousuke’s ears that he suspected was his wildly beating heart trying to launch itself out of his chest.

“You’re only getting that now?” Sousuke gruffly said. It earned him a small chuckle and shoulders he hadn’t realized were tense began to ease.

“Aren’t we a bit of a mess right now?” Makoto asked instead.

\---

“What does it mean to want to spend all your time with someone?” Sousuke asked absentmindedly. His eyes were staring unseeingly at the bare wall of his room. He heard a light shuffling on the other side, probably Rin moving to a more comfortable place.

“Why? Did you get a girlfriend?” Rin’s reply sounded a bit distant. So he was also on speaker now.

“No, I got Makoto,” Sousuke answered.

There was a brief silence.

“I feel like I would’ve been more surprised if you hadn’t already planned your daily life around Makoto,” Rin said.

“Have I really been hanging out with him that much?”

“I don’t know about that personally but you sure talked about him a lot. I’ve never heard you talk so much about someone. Honestly, I’ve never heard you talk about anything as much as you talk about Makoto.”

“I don’t talk that much about Makoto,” Sousuke denied, his eyebrows furrowing. He really doesn’t.

“Maybe not entirely about Makoto but you mention him a lot. Going out to the movies with him, eating dinner with him and even hanging out after class. Aren’t you both already basically dating? Just without the hand-holding and kissing,” Rin said. There was a relaxed lilt to his voice, meaning he was lying down on his bed. “Do you want to kiss him?”

Sousuke considered it seriously. He thought of the shape of Makoto’s lips and imagined how it would feel to lean closer to that kind face. He would probably cup his hand on one side of Makoto’s face and pull it closer.

It was really easy to run with this.

“I could,” Sousuke finally answered.                                                                                                                               

“You really considered it,” Rin said with an amused laugh. “I think you’ve got your answer there.”

\---

It wasn’t surprising that his love realization was far from dramatic. He knew he was a very logical and analytical person. A thing like falling in love at first sight was a foreign concept to him.

What was also a foreign concept to him was falling for a boy; for Makoto specifically. He could never imagine feeling for another man like he does for Makoto. He didn’t need to look it up to know that people love in different ways and it was okay to have affections for his same gender but he really wasn’t attracted to anyone else.

As he was making his way to class on a Thursday afternoon, Sousuke thought about his feelings for his friend. The first and most important question was whether Makoto felt the same but that was something he couldn’t possibly answer on his own so it was better to move on from there.

His second concern was what he expected from a relationship with Makoto. He wanted acknowledgement as a person regarded higher than a friend; someone who Makoto would think to contact first if anything good or bad happened; someone who could be with him without question. Touching and kissing are a supreme added bonus. Ever since the conversation with Rin, he kept thinking about kissing Makoto’s ears every time the other blushed. Other than that, Sousuke didn’t really want anything. He wouldn’t have any problem if they continued on as they have been so far.

There was the subject of sexual desires and that left him at a bit of a loss. He never looked at Makoto with intentions to undress him. The thought of Makoto didn’t send a spark to his little guy. It just made his gut feel all fluttery and his heart light. Not to say he couldn’t jack off to the thought of Makoto because he already did, two nights ago, but it wasn’t something he felt like he would actively pursue if they got together.

However, if that was what Makoto wanted, he was 100% sure he could give it to him. He wasn’t blind. Makoto had an absolutely incredible body. The only way he wouldn’t get turned on by that was if he became impotent.

Sousuke stopped by a random tree and clapped his hands in prayer, begging that he would never be impotent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for long delay. My computer broke. Well, it's still broken so I had to dust out my aged laptop and things happened. It was hard. This chapter probably contains more errors because I didn't read through enough but I wrote so much I'm already nearly done with the next chapter.
> 
> Please read and review


	7. Chapter 7

“Sousuke!”

The man in question turned at the familiar call of his name, a fluttering sensation reappearing in his guts.

Makoto was leisurely jogging towards him, his hand waving and his face beaming. A couple of people were lagging behind him but he could tell they were travelling together. Among the faces, he recognized Kuroo due to his peculiar hairstyle.

“Just got out of class?” Makoto asked, stopping in front of him. There was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead but he wasn’t breathing hard.

Sousuke nodded, letting a smile slip on his lips.

“I’m helping the volleyball club today. If you’re free, would you like to join us?” Makoto invited, indicating the people slowly approaching behind him. Sousuke glanced briefly to the three club members, catching Kuroo’s eyes when the other nodded in acknowledgement to which he responded similarly. “You don’t have to do anything. The coach isn’t here today so everyone’s kind of doing their own practices. It’s quite fun to watch.”

Sousuke personally thought anything Makoto did was worth watching. Last week, Makoto had to rinse his pants in the public toilet because some drunken guy’s vomit splashed on it and Sousuke was unabashedly staring at him while holding a pack of tissues at the ready.

“My childhood friend is also here visiting,” Kuroo spoke up. “You can sit with him. He won’t play even if I bait him with video games.”

“Sure,” Sousuke agreed. He would have come anyway just because Makoto invited him.

“You know him, Kuroo-san?” one of the two people Sousuke didn’t know asked.

“Oh! Um, this is my friend, Yamazaki Sousuke,” Makoto introduced. How many times has Makoto been introducing him so far? He was starting to feel a sense of déjà vu. “He’s been at one of the practice matches before.”

“You know, this is ‘cat saviour’-kun,” Kuroo said with a leer but it sparked a recognition in the eyes of the two. Sousuke blanched at that.

 “Please stop calling him that, Kuroo,” Makoto admonished lightly before sending an apologetic look to Sousuke.

“I’m Taneda Kaito, first year,” the man who had spoken up introduced himself. Sousuke accepted his handshake.

“Sawamura Daichi,” the other man who had been silent so far spoke, also with an offered hand that Sousuke took.

“He’s vice-captain,” Kuroo butted in, only to be elbowed in the gut.

“I’m not,” Sawamura said with a smile.

“Not yet but –” Taneda was trying to say but Sawamura’s foot quickly jabbed him behind his knee, forcing the man to kneel down.

“I’m not,” Sawamura repeated, smile becoming strained.

It was most likely an internal club issue that Sousuke really didn’t care about but seeing Kuroo clutch his stomach in pain made him feel a bit satisfied. Makoto was looking at the two fallen volleyball players with a bit of exasperation so he was pretty sure they were asking for it.

“Come on, we need to get back to practice,” Sawamura said to the other two, already turning away.

“Yes, vice-captain,” the two said simultaneously, instantly receiving an ice cold glare that made even Sousuke recoil at its intensity.

Their small group began walking back after Kuroo and Taneda had righted themselves and Makoto naturally fell into step next to him, letting a considerable distance grow between the two and the other three volleyball members.

“Sorry about that,” Makoto apologized. “Their vice-captain recently dropped out to take over the family business and everyone’s been saying Sawamura-san is the best person to replace him. I sort of understand where they’re coming from, after looking at how he conducted practice once. He just seems to know how to rally everyone up.”

Sousuke was reminded of Rin and how he led the Samezuka team in their third year. Some people were just born to lead, he supposed.

“You were also captain for two years,” Sousuke said, not really meaning anything. Lately he’s been saying things just for the sake of keeping the conversation going. It was quite refreshing, he would readily admit.

“Yes, but our team was so small, there weren’t a lot of people to choose from,” Makoto answered with a light chuckle.

Sousuke couldn’t agree more as an image of Haru’s uninterested face appeared in mind.

“That’s true. It was either you or a mackerel, huh?” Sousuke said with a small chuckle.

“Exactly what kind of image do you have of Haru?” Makoto asked, side-eyeing his friend in slight disbelief.

Sousuke was about to answer when he accidentally caught the eye of Sawamura who was trying to discreetly look back at him. The other quickly turned away, making even Makoto notice something was off. The two swimmers shared a brief glance with each other before the light-haired man shrugged his shoulders.

Did he say something wrong?

\---

After they arrived at the gym, Makoto offered himself up to be the ball boy for a game the members were playing. Kuroo pointed out his small childhood friend sitting against one of the gym walls, playing a game on the device in his hands, and Sousuke took a seat a considerable foot away from the other.

For a good half-hour, Makoto and a few others were running around the court perimeters, catching stray balls and wiping sweat from the floor. It looked like a lot of work for something that wasn’t the actual sport but he seemed to have fun doing it. Sousuke tried to make it seem like he was watching the game but honestly, his attention kept going back to Makoto.

His eyes did stray for a bit to find Kuroo who was standing on the side and giving pointers to one of the younger looking blockers on the blue team. Taneda was on the yellow team but he kept rotating out in the back line. He had a huge L on his team vest, something Sousuke was pretty sure Makoto explained about but he couldn’t remember. What he did remember about it was that these ‘L’s are the players that replace Makoto when he rotates to the back line to make up for his bad receives.

The first set lasted nearly half an hour and the yellow team won 25 – 22. They took a 10 minute break and everyone started to pass around their vests to others. Sousuke watched Makoto accept a blue vest and huddle with his team to discuss. Kuroo decided to join in this time, grabbing a passing Sawamura with him.

Saying Sousuke was excited was an understatement. He was internally flipping out with a burning eagerness to see Makoto in action. During the practice match with the neighbourhood team that he was invited to spectate, Makoto had explained that his roles were usually the blockers in the front. They’d occasionally have him as a spiker but only if the overall receives of his team was strong.

The whistle blew and everyone stepped onto the court, getting into their spots quickly. Makoto looked at Sousuke as his vest number was being noted down and sent a smile and a small wave. The butterflies in Sousuke’s guts that had rested during the first set of the game took off and he weakly waved back, knowing that his face was heating up. Really, how obvious can he be?

As the second set started, a familiar figure approached them from the side. Taneda, with a towel around his neck, took a seat in the gaping distance Sousuke had allowed between him and Kuroo’s childhood friend. When Sousuke turned to acknowledge the first year, he saw that the friend had put away his gaming device and was watching the game disinterestedly.

“Yamazaki-san, right? Is this your first time watching Tachibana-san in a game?” Taneda asked him, eyes turning to the game on the court. Sousuke nodded with a light hum. “It’s a real shame he’s not on the team. His blocking has improved a lot. Can’t say the same about his receives.”

Sousuke watched Makoto jump with his hands stretched out to block. The ball hit his fingers and bounced up, momentum killed enough to make Sawamura able to receive and send it to the setter cleanly.

“What sports did you guys do in highschool?” Taneda asked.

“Swimming,” Sousuke answered.

The sharp sound of the ball hitting the other side of the court signalled the first point won by the blue team. A warm feeling of pride spread in his chest.

“Did he do backstroke?” Taneda excitedly asked. Sousuke eyed him warily but nodded anyway. “I knew it! Have you seen his back? Those muscles are unfair!”

Naturally, of course he has seen Makoto’s back.

He hasn’t really seen it recently though.

Huh…

\---

“Good game,” Sousuke greeted when Makoto approached him.

Makoto was still breathing heavy from the close set the blue team won. Around his neck was a green towel and he was holding a water bottle. “Thank you.”

Kuroo also made his way next to his friend and was greeted similarly.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Makoto asked Kuroo’s friend, indicating the spot Taneda had vacated. The other nodded and he sat down. “That was pretty embarrassing, wasn’t it? I did a lot of mistakes and had to be supported constantly.”

“You looked cool out there,” Sousuke replied instead. Makoto’s flushed cheeks became redder.

“T – thank you,” Makoto said, wiping his face and probably hiding it from Sousuke.

What overwhelming cuteness.

Sousuke allowed the other to gather himself by looking around the gym. The whistle indicating the start of the third set blew and the sounds of shoes squeaking and a ball being bounced around joined the ruckus of the lively building. There wasn’t really any set group member for the games as he spotted a previously yellow member now playing as a spiker for the blue team. They were all just really having a fun time doing something they enjoyed.

He couldn’t particularly remember a time when he swam for the sake of swimming. It was always a race to get better. He had felt a lot of gratification at beating his own time and beating others too but it gradually got harder and harder. The happiness he felt turned into dissatisfaction and pressure. By not being able to surpass himself, he was stagnating and it frustrated him.

In the end, did he really love swimming as much as he thought he did? Was winning all there was to his passion?

“Did you have a good time? Watching them play,” Makoto spoke up, probably having finally calmed the blush from his face. Sousuke could see the tips of his ears were still quite pink.

“I’m not sure since I only enjoyed watching you,” Sousuke replied.

Once the words came out, he realized just how cheesy and utterly pining he had sounded like. Prickling heat crept from his neck up to his cheeks and his mouth clamped shut as if terrified a slew of more embarrassing sentences would topple out. Makoto wasn’t faring any better. After the initial second it took him to process the words, his whole face seemed to burst red far worse than he had just a moment ago. His eyes widened and his shoulders tensed up to his ears. Their eye contact lasted all of three seconds before Makoto looked away, pulling the towel up to furiously attempt to wipe the blush from his cheeks.

He kept his head down as he mumbled petulantly, “Geez, why did you say something like that.”

“I mean it though,” Sousuke replied in a small voice.

“I know, you always mean the things you say. That’s why –” Makoto’s voice hitched slightly before dropping really low “ –that’s why I’m like this.”

Although Makoto sounded accusing, Sousuke couldn’t find it in himself to feel guilty for what he had said.

When he turned his head away to allow Makoto time to calm down, he accidentally caught Sawamura staring from where he stood at the other end of the gym. The other’s eyes widened and he gave a small nod before looking away.

Did he do something to that guy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole volleyball club thing going on has always been my intention to get Sousuke to reflect on his swimming. I try to keep the Haikyuu characters as supporting cast as much as every other OC in this story. Please tell me if you feel I'm focusing too much on them.
> 
> Please read and review


	8. Chapter 8

Sousuke checked the time on his phone and saw that he was still 15 minutes early. The Iwatobi soulmates normally arrived in the nick of time, with 1 or 2 minutes to spare so he wasn’t in any rush to look through the crowds for familiar faces. With the added advantage of his rather towering height, he was also pretty sure Makoto at least could spot him from a mile away.

A small sigh left his lips before a sudden thought stabbed through him.

Why was he still referring to the both of them as a pair? Wouldn’t he, in the midst of having affections towards the better half, feel a sense of abhorrence regarding such insinuation?

But on the other hand, for all his decorative wording, he never meant it in a romantic way, did he? In fact, in his mind, didn’t he start using them sarcastically to tease their absurdly close relationship? Somewhere down the road, it had morphed into a natural order. For how increasingly frequent he spent with Makoto, the other was still greatly devoted to his childhood friend.

Was he supposed to feel anything ill about that?

Shouldn’t he much prefer putting himself as a pair with Makoto?

But it just wasn’t the same. There was an odd normalcy to the two best friends being seen as a pair. Was that a theorem he made himself accept or was it just how everyone would naturally view the duo as? Did he need to change his perspective? Should he even try to?

“Sousuke!” a cheerful greeting pulled him from his thoughts. Makoto’s happy face bobbed among the crowd in the street as he made his way to Sousuke’s spot.

Sousuke glanced at his watch and saw that only 3 minutes had passed by. Makoto was quite early, something rare when he’s out with the indifferent Haru.

In fact, Haru wasn’t by his side today.

“I thought I was pretty early but it seems like you beat me to it,” Makoto said when he was three paces away from Sousuke. “I hope I didn’t make you wait too long.”

“Of course not,” Sousuke replied easily, pushing away from the wall he had been leaning against. He patted non-existent dust from his sleeves and gave a discreet sweeping look through the crowds, wondering if maybe Haru had decided to not approach him instead of being – what he is feverishly hoping for – absent. They may have started acknowledging each other but that didn’t mean Haru was suddenly playing buddies with him.

“Haru went to visit his parents,” Makoto answered his unasked query. Sousuke felt caught red-handed when he turned to look at the shorter male who was chuckling into his hand. “I hope you don’t mind that it’ll be just me today.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Sousuke answered, biting down on a grunt of victory and fighting the smile trying to break onto his face. Makoto looked at him as if he knew exactly what the other was thinking and it made him smile. Sousuke’s badly hidden celebratory was making Tachibana Makoto smile and he absolutely knew today was going to be a good day.

“Do you want to have some early lunch or would you rather go look for headphones first?” Makoto asked, already turning his body towards the crowd. Sousuke walked next to him, conscious of the small distance between them.

“I don’t want to brave the lunchtime rush later,” Sousuke replied. Makoto hummed in agreement before taking out his phone.

“There’s a family restaurant I want to try. It’s not far from here. Hamada recommended the breakfast set but maybe it’s too late for that but I heard the chocolate parfait is really good,” Makoto rambled, scrolling through a text log, probably his conversation with this Hamada person. Sousuke wondered what would be a good response to give to Makoto without making him sound disinterested – even though he was actually very uninterested in the subject. He was saved by Makoto giving a delighted chuckle. “They also have an extensive choice of coffees, Sousuke.”

Sousuke wanted to melt on the ground because Makoto had remembered he was interested in coffee. He even had some coffee ordering quirks that he had never told anyone. Makoto preferred Latte if he had to choose something. Sousuke appreciated that Makoto tried to indulge in his interests despite the other not being much of a coffee person.

“Hamada said their Café Au Lait is good. I asked him about Macchiato and Mocha but he’s never ordered that before,” Makoto continued, still scrolling through the text logs.

Sousuke can swear up to the heavens that he has never had another person in his life who was as thoughtful about his interest – down to the _type_ of coffee – as Makoto was and he needed to treasure this man until his very last breath. He could hear Rin’s laughter in his head at how ridiculous he was being.

“You remembered,” Sousuke finally offered to their light conversation. Makoto looked up from his phone, surprised.

“Remembered what?” The other asked, confusion in his eyes.

“The type of coffee I like,” Sousuke replied.

“It – It’s not a big deal, really,” Makoto answered back, a light flush dusting his cheeks and colouring his ears. He ducked his head away, probably feeling the burn in his face. “You always ordered that when we went to the coffee shops and cafes.”

That was not true at all. Sousuke liked to try a variety of coffees when he visits coffee shops but Makoto had noticed that he would only order Mocha on his first visit to a café and a Macchiato on his first visit to a coffee shop. The subsequent visits would be varying ranges of anything he felt brave enough to try. He wouldn’t be surprised if Makoto also noticed he never chose any coffee but black when buying from a vending machine.

It wasn’t just coffee that Makoto was attentive of. Sousuke recalled back when they visited a second-hand bookstore, Makoto remembered the genre of books Sousuke liked – something he had mentioned offhandedly that one time during lunch. He was also careful in choosing the colours Sousuke likes, if there was an extensive option, and was mindful of when Sousuke was uncomfortable with being in public.

He was truly blessed and he may need to devise a plan to kiss this perfect man next to him very soon.

“Thanks,” Sousuke said for now, making the other fidget.

“It’s nothing really,” Makoto insisted, rubbing his neck and not meeting Sousuke’s eyes. “I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable or bored at a restaurant I chose.”

Makoto really put a lot of thought into this and it made something warm spread in his chest.

“Your presence alone makes me happy. Everything you do is interesting,” Sousuke replied, this time with the full intention of seeing the other’s cheeks bloom in red. It has never been easy for him to praise and compliment someone but with Makoto, the words just came like breathing to him and it made him feel just as good – as if each word was a gulp of fresh air in the sunny morning. “I don’t think I’ll ever get bored with you here.”

“Why do you keep saying such things,” Makoto muttered, keeping his face away from the other’s gaze.

“Makoto,” Sousuke called out, stopping in his tracks and making the other stop as well. Makoto’s face was probably burning with how flushed he was.

In their months of friendship, there has always been a physical distance between him and Makoto. It was always a comfortable one because neither of them had a tendency for skinship. They weren’t ashamed of their bodies, though Makoto was a lot more self-conscious about _where_ he didn’t mind being half-naked – a trait that Sousuke wouldn’t be surprised was born from being Haru’s caretaker on outings close to large bodies of water. They also didn’t have any desire to initiate skin contact, though this Sousuke just assumes on his own. So, it was strange that at this moment, in the middle of a street in Tokyo, on a random outing that started as any other, with his friend that he absolutely unabashedly adores from the tip of his fine hair to his roughly cut toenails, Sousuke had an intense desire to hold Makoto’s hand. Or hands, let’s leave that option open.

And he didn’t know how to communicate this want to Makoto because he didn’t have a reason.

He was happy and in love was the reason and he needed Makoto’s hand to ground him because he feels like he’s about to float into the clouds from how much warmth Makoto’s presence in his life gives him. It wasn’t a plausible reason given the randomness but he needed this.

So, he brought his hand up, palm to the sky. Makoto stared at it, confused like the normal human being that he is. The shorter male looked to his own hands that were empty and flicked back up to search for the answer in Sousuke’s eyes.

“Sousuke?” Makoto called curiously even when his own hand gently fell onto the welcoming palm.

It didn’t help ground him at all. He was now ready to combust from how happy he was inside. The straight line of his lips that quivered before Makoto responded to his silent gesture relaxed into a smile that was too silly for his taste. He curled his rough fingers around the hand in his and stared into Makoto’s eyes.

“You are really amazing,” Sousuke finally said with a happy sigh. Makoto froze and tried to pull his hand away but he held strong.

“What brought this on?” Makoto asked, his voice climbing high, showing how nervous he was.

“I just wanted to tell you that,” He answered seriously, rubbing slow circles on the back of Makoto’s hand. “From the start, you’ve been so kind to me. So mindful and so helpful. I came here on a whim, as a means to move day to day without really wanting much but you made me hope again for many things, even the things I’m scared of hoping for.”

Makoto was holding his breath as Sousuke rambled and he should be worried but adrenaline had kicked in and signaled that he was about to do something he would probably regret.

“You’ve spoiled a broken man, Makoto.”

He brought his free hand to clasp Makoto’s hand and he could hear the other’s stuttered breath, breaking out of the trance Sousuke had bewitched him in.

“And I want you to know how much that means to me,” Sousuke said, leaning down and bringing the hand to his lips. It was a bow – a plea and prayer for Makoto’s answer. “Please let me stay by your side.”

A warm gush of air brushed his cheek from Makoto’s quick exhale. He hadn’t realized their faces were this close.

“Sousuke,” Makoto breathed out, high and strung with nerve. “Wha – what is this? Are you –”

Makoto’s sentence was broken with his free hand coming up to curl around Sousuke’s cheek. With a small push upwards, they were staring into each other’s eyes again.

Sousuke knew very well that he was a mess. His cheeks were burning from his confession and his mouth was clenched and grim to brace for Makoto’s response. His eyes were embarrassingly glassy from the fear in his chest. He felt for certain that he would break down no matter what Makoto’s response was. It was hard to swallow the terrifying lump in his throat and his heart was beating loud, almost making it impossible to hear Makoto’s light chuckle.

He loved that chuckle so much.

“Are you asking me out?” Makoto finally asked, and Sousuke took that grin to mean very good things.

“I like you, Makoto, and I want to be with you,” Sousuke blurted out instead, grimacing at how his voice cracked.

“So you are asking me out,” Makoto answered with another chuckle. “I would be honoured.”

Sousuke felt his eyes widen and the tenseness of his shoulders dropped like dumbbells. Makoto circled his remaining hand around Sousuke’s and smiled happily at him. The tears in his eyes had somehow dried and he felt like his vision was given a breathtaking clarity. He noticed how rosy Makoto’s cheeks were and how light his eyelashes were and Sousuke stared and stared because now he felt he was allowed to stare. He wanted to imprint all this into his memories.

Did he even need to anymore? Because Makoto had accepted his wish to be by his side and he was still in awe from that.

“S – Sousuke?” Makoto called out softly, looking away and gently prying his hands from the others.

“Makoto?” Sousuke asked, concerned at how bashful the other suddenly seemed.

“I think we should start moving,” the shorter man mumbled, tugging on Sousuke’s sleeve until he remembered how to function his own legs. It was only then that he noticed several pairs of eyes had been looking at them.

He had completely forgotten that they were in public.

In fact, he hadn’t intended to confess to Makoto at all. It was so spontaneous, so within the moment that he felt like he had cheated his own personality, his own self. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

“For a moment there, I completely forgot we were in public,” Makoto said with an amused laugh. His hand was still curled on Sousuke’s sleeve and –

And Sousuke was right, today was an extremely good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, that was kinda anti-climactic but I quite like it. Then again, bias opinion so please tell me yours^^
> 
> It's been a long while, hasn't it? Sorry. I was caught up in many things and actually forgot I had a fic until someone left a review. Thank you!  
> So, please read and review. Thank you for the kudos, bookmarks and reviews!
> 
> There are still some unresolved things to get to like Haru, swimming, volleyball club and they need to kiss. I would be disappointed if they didn't kiss.


End file.
